An Analysis on Portrayals of Autism and the Influences of Culture in (The) Good Doctor People with disabilities are often excluded from society and the labour force due to prejudice and misunderstandings of their capabilities. John Locke, Samuel Pufendorf, and the rise of eugenics further perpetuated negative connotations with disability (Stainton, 2018). Being constantly associated with negative attributes, depictions of disability in the media were rarely positive. However, greater representation is on the rise. As these stories are told and embodied, we can start to question how accurate these portrayals are. The Good Doctor is a 2017 American television show that was adapted from a 2013 Korean drama of a similar name – Good Doctor. Both shows feature the life of an autistic…show more content… Shaun Murphy in The Good Doctor and Dr. Park Shi-On in Good Doctor – represent a new age of television in which equity groups are more accurately personified. Notwithstanding script differences, the actors took different approaches in portraying autism. Freddie Highmore’s portrayal of Dr. Murphy corresponds with conventional autistic traits: discomfort in public, avoidant behaviour and eye-contact, and stimming/self-stimulation (playing with a toy knife and handkerchief). In contrast, Joo Won’s portrayal of Dr. Park focuses on features that are not generally associated with autism: bad posture, absent-mindedness, and being easily distracted. Regardless, both characters exhibit social deficits and an unwillingness to try new things. With that said, these differences are perfectly acceptable. As Norm Kunc and Emma Van der Klift mentioned in their presentation, “If you know one person with disability, you only know one person.” The liberties that these two actors take emphasizes how autism, and disability in general, is on a spectrum. By drawing comparisons between these two characters, it is obvious that autism is not simply defined as a select set of
